The Great Frog is a jewellery shop at 10 Ganton Street in Soho, London, specialising in handcrafted rings, pendants, bracelets and other accessories inspired by rock music, heavy metal, biker culture and gothic imagery. The business was founded in 1972 by Paterson Riley and Carol Lehtonen-Riley, who opened their first shop just off Carnaby Street. Paterson, originally from New Zealand, taught himself jewellery making and developed a distinctive range of silver designs featuring skulls, skeletons, crosses, snakes, daggers and other macabre imagery.
The business remains family-owned and is now run by their son, Reino Lehtonen-Riley, who serves as creative director and head designer. The jewellery continues to be designed and handcrafted in London, maintaining the workshop tradition established during the shop’s early years.
The original Soho shop occupies a historic Georgian building with a black-painted storefront and a relatively small interior. Dark wooden cabinets and glass display cases are filled with silver and gold jewellery, while skulls, artwork and unusual objects add to the gothic character of the room. The workshop has traditionally been located in the basement beneath the shop.
Skull rings have been central to The Great Frog since the 1970s and remain among its best-known designs. Eyeball rings are another long-running speciality, with some versions incorporating realistic artificial eyes. Many of the designs draw directly from biker, punk, rock and heavy metal culture.
The Great Frog developed particularly close connections with rock and metal musicians during the 1980s. Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead became a longtime customer and friend of Paterson Riley and wore several of his designs, including the original Warpig ring. In 2011, Reino Lehtonen-Riley worked with Lemmy on an updated Warpig design and an Ace of Spades ring.
Other musicians associated with the shop include Cliff Burton and James Hetfield of Metallica, Slash of Guns N’ Roses, Keith Richards and Ozzy Osbourne. In 1983, The Great Frog was commissioned to create a custom belt buckle depicting Iron Maiden mascot Eddie for Bruce Dickinson ahead of the band’s “Powerslave” tour. The original buckle remains in the archive at the Ganton Street shop.
The company has subsequently produced officially licensed jewellery for bands including Iron Maiden, Motörhead, Slayer, Anthrax and Judas Priest. These collaborations, together with decades of custom work for musicians, have made The Great Frog closely connected with the visual culture of hard rock and heavy metal.
The Great Frog has since expanded beyond London, but the Ganton Street shop remains the original location and the centre of a jewellery business that has been intertwined with rock, metal and biker culture since 1972.
ADDRESS:
10 Ganton St, Carnaby, London W1F 7QR, United Kingdom
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